


to the beat

by introductory



Category: Social Network (2010)
Genre: Author's Favorite, Canon Compliant, D/s, Established Relationship, M/M, Spanking, Wordcount: 500-1.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:56:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/introductory/pseuds/introductory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm going to give you twenty," says Mark.  "That's two for each, Wardo.  Yes or no."</p>
            </blockquote>





	to the beat

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not really sure where this came from.
> 
> Set in the canon universe, but can be read as part of the Directedverse if it suits your fancy.

"What do you mean, get left behind?"

The air stills for a moment, like they've both forgotten how to breathe. Then Mark moves, surprisingly quick, hand wrapping around Eduardo's wrist and squeezing, tight enough to hurt.

"How many?"

"How many what?" says Eduardo, hating the edge in Mark's voice that makes him want to sink to his knees right there in the hallway, to press his forehead to Mark's thigh and swear he'll never leave his side again. "How many what, Mark?"

Mark's face flickers through a number of expressions, too fast to be identified. "I told you I needed you to get on board with this -- "

"I've _been_ on  board -- "

"Wardo," says Mark, and it sounds like a warning. "How many ad execs did you meet with this week?"

Eduardo bares his teeth. "Eleven."

"And how many of them wanted to partner with Facebook?"

"Fuck you -- " he says, but Mark's grip is solid, and he can't pull away. "One. Let _go_."

Mark doesn't. "Okay," he says. Then: "You need to change."

He pulls Eduardo through the nearest open door. It's Mark's room, by the looks of it -- there are clothes strewn everywhere and half-eaten Twizzlers on the floor. Eduardo turns on the lights, but a second later Mark reaches over and flips the switch back off, leaving the room in near-darkness.

"The bathroom's over there," says Mark. "Just put everything that's wet in the tub and I'll take care of it later."

Eduardo does as he's told, creating a puddle of rainwater on the bathroom floor. There's a window above the tub, and the night air drifting inside makes him shiver. Coat, pants, socks, and shirt go into the tub; he gets to his briefs, and though they're only slightly damp, he sheds them anyway and goes back out to the bedroom.

"Mark?"

Mark turns towards Eduardo, the expression on his face oddly pensive. When Eduardo comes to stand in front of him, Mark's hands twitch like he's yearning to touch but won't let himself; Eduardo wishes he would. Eduardo wishes Mark would do a lot of things.

"I'm going to give you twenty," says Mark. "That's two for each, Wardo. Yes or no."

Eduardo swallows. "Yes."

The first two hits, when they finally come, are more of a shock than anything else; the fourth is when the pain begins to register. Eduardo tenses up, twists his body in Mark's lap, but Mark keeps him pinned down with a forearm. By eight Eduardo can hear himself making noise: small, sharp gasps that he can't keep in.

Mark pauses, hand in the air. "Should I stop?" 

It's a stupid question. Eduardo knows the safeword; he shakes his head no. Mark cups the back of Eduardo's neck and taps out a full minute with his fingertip, giving Eduardo enough time to catch his breath before he starts again. 

Eduardo doesn't bother counting this time.

"Twenty," says Mark, after a while. "You're done."

Eduardo's cold, and he's hard against Mark's thigh, and suddenly he's crying, too: because Mark always hits him like he means it, but never like Eduardo _deserves_ it. The sheets smell like Mark, and Eduardo pushes his face into them, clenches his fists in the blankets, feeling as far away from Mark as he did in New York, when they were three hours and two states apart, and it doesn't make any sense.

"Wardo. Please look at me."

When Eduardo doesn't respond, Mark reaches down and unfurls Eduardo's hands from the sheets, twining their fingers together instead. His other hand comes back down on Eduardo's aching skin, gentle this time, but Eduardo still can't help the way his body flinches in Mark's lap.

"I meant it when I said I need you here," Mark says. "The rate the site's growing, it's going to be huge. It's going to take over everything, Wardo, there won't be time for anything _except_ Facebook, and I need you to be a part of it. I need you to be in California with me, or else  you'll -- "

 _You'll get left behind_.

"I don't want that," says Mark. He squeezes Eduardo's hand tightly, and his nails are sharp. "Tell me you understand."

Eduardo finds his voice. "Yes," he says.


End file.
